


I Spy

by merthurkdramas_101



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andrew is a bad flirter, F/M, M/M, Neil is dumb, Neil kinda sorta falls in a crush with Andrew at first sight?, also, aquarium meet cute, but it stops before it gets too M rated, idk man, it's fluff though, little bit of some, so i'm sorry for that, somethin somethin, the title sucks, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 17:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurkdramas_101/pseuds/merthurkdramas_101
Summary: Prompt: One of them gets lost in a museum while they're supposed to be on a chaperoning trip?Neil gets Dan and Matt's kids for a day because Neil an aquarium pass that's good for at least three guests per visit. No one knows why. In which Neil visits the aquarium to eye a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed boy playing with penguins, the kids lose Neil (kind of on purpose), and guess who comes to save Neil?





	I Spy

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyyyyyyyy. Long time no…here? Lol so it's been a loooong few months, and I know I was supposed to bring out a fic with a certain pirate!Merlin, but Fence came out and I got IMMENSELY distracted by the All For The Game series by Nora Sakavic…if you haven't read it yet GO READ IT but please read it with discretion because there are MAJOR trigger warnings. Anyway, so I adopted Neil, Andrew, and basically everyone else in that series.  
> On that note, this is my first fic for the AFTG series, and basically anything besides Merlin, sooooo pleaseeee go easy on me if the characters aren't in character cause Andrew is so fucking hard to write Jesus Christ like…anyway. I hope y'all enjoy this!!! Especially you, @luciscout! I hope you like it, and I'm sorry if it isn't what you wanted!!  
> Oh side note, I'm also merthurcapri-life101 on tumblr in case anyone was wondering!! Feel free to pop in and say hello if you want to!! LOVE Y'ALL TO PIECES AND I SWEAR I WILL TRY TO GET MORE FICS OUT SOON!!! My soul is craving them as well.  
> DISCLAIMERS: Neil, Andrew, Dan, and Matt are not my characters-I'm just using them to fulfill my own happiness :3 Kyle and Andrea, though, are my original characters. I don't have a beta, so all errors are mine. Also, I don't know what city this takes place in, so the aquarium and every place in here is made up for all intents and purposes, that includes the type of aquarium I've described so please don't go off on me that no aquarium does this.  
> I hope y'all enjoy the story!! If you find any errors, please let me know so I can fix it! Also, if there was anything in here that offended you, please let me know so I can correct it right away-It was definitely not intentional! LOVE Y'ALL!!! <3333333333

Neil was certain that after witness protection, he wouldn’t harbor any more secrets. Well, at least secrets that wouldn’t hurt the people he cared for. Going to the aquarium every weekend to watch a certain someone play and care for the penguins hardly counted as a secret, especially because it wouldn’t hurt Dan and Matt if they found out.

But the thing is, Matt and Dan have been super nosy ever since they figured out Neil was in witness protection. After three years of knowing Matt and Dan, Neil told them as soon as Andrea was born because he didn’t want to put their family in danger. Since then, they’ve been worrying about his social life and if he was happy enough in his new life.

Neil would say, “Honestly, this is the most life I’ve lived since I was a kid,” and Matt and Dan would tear up and hug him and coddle him until their real kid started crying and needed attention.

It all came to a head on Friday when Dan and Matt were taking their kids, Andrea and Kyle, downtown. Neil was coming out of the aquarium when he saw a bob of curly, brown hair bouncing towards him. He had about three seconds to brace for impact.

“Andrea. What are you doing here?” he said as she jumped into his arms. He stood up slowly, eyes on Dan and Matt who were looking relieved that their daughter hadn’t just jumped into the arms of some stranger. Kyle was walking quickly, but his eyes were trained on the ground, as if he could see his sister’s footsteps leading him.

“We’re here with Mom and Dad! They wanted to take us to see a stupid movie that Kyle wanted to see. It’s about a bull that becomes a pet or something.”

“I don’t think that’s legal.”

“It isn’t! It’s make believe, though. That’s why Kyle loves it so much.”

“Shut up, Andy. It’s cute, okay?” said Kyle as he made his way up.

“Didn’t you guys go see _The Greatest Showman_ last weekend because you wanted to see it?” Neil asked.

Andrea rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah! Cause Zac Efron and Zendaya are in it and they’re both _hot_. Like come on, Neil. I’m not a kid anymore.”

She was, however twelve-years-old, and had a complex most kids did at their age. Or, at least, that’s what Neil figures because Kyle was still five-years-old and was shy, just as Andrea was. Neil really doesn’t know much about kids.

“Look, I think it’s only fair that you guys trade off. Your parents taught you how to share, right?” Neil said.

“We did. Lucky for us, she’s on her rebellious streak. Only the rest of her teenage life to go,” Dan said as she walked up to them all. She ran her fingers through Andrea’s hair, who pouted, but inched her head up higher so her mom could do it again.

“What are you doing here, Neil?” Matt said.

“I went to the aquarium.”

“You like sea animals? Since when?” Dan asked.

“Since two months ago.”

“And you’re going to see _just_ the sea animals?” Matt asked. Dan turned toward her husband and narrowed her eyes, as if trying to read his mind. It seemed to work, but she smiled and turned her look on Neil.

“Yes. The penguins in particular.” What they didn’t know won’t hurt them.

“Dad! Can we go see the penguins with Neil?” Kyle asked. His was bouncing up and down on his tiptoes.

“Yeah, can we? I want to go see the sharks! And the octopus!” Andrea said.

“Kids, we have fifteen minutes till the movie starts. Maybe next weekend?” Matt said, eyes still trained on Neil.

“Dad, please? You can take Kyle, and I’ll go with Neil!”

“Hey, no! I want to go too!”

“Well, you can’t have both, kid.”

“Don’t call me kid!”

“Kid. Kid. Kiiiiiid.”

“Hey! Break it up you two,” Dan said. Matt was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide his smile behind a fist.

“Who knew Neil would be so popular with the kids, Dan.”

“Yeah, well, you worship Neil like he’s your oldest son, so why wouldn’t they?”

“You guys know I can hear you, right?” Neil said. Just in case they really forgot he was still there.

Matt’s shoulders shook in silent laughter, but his eyes were sparkling and filled with affection as he looked at Neil. Neil just rolled his eyes and faced the kids, who were still arguing.

“Look guys, I have a pass that allows up to three guests. If your parents don’t mind, I can take you guys tomorrow,” Neil said.

Andrea and Kyle squealed and ran to hug Neil, who almost fell over from the force of their hugs. He would never get used to how easily they showed affection. Their parents were the best teachers.

“Please can we go, Mom?”

“Yeah, please Mom?”

“Stop copying me, Kyle.”

“Stop copying me, Kyle.”

“Mom!”

“Mom!”

Matt was turned around at this point and walking away so he could laugh full force while Dan was stuck with her still-arguing children. Neil wondered how Matt got away with this and how Dan still hasn’t killed him. He has a feeling it happens more often than he thinks it does.

“Okay, stop! Seriously. Kyle, you have two more strikes till you get your books taken away for a weekend. And Andrea, you have one left before you’re grounded for a week.”

They both looked down at the ground, hands behind their backs as they waited for Dan to give the verdict. She looked at Neil, who shrugged, and she gave him a small smile which disappeared the moment she addressed her children.

“Listen up. If. _If_ you guys behave today, you can go with Neil tomorrow. But,” she said as they started jumping and inching their way towards Neil. “that means no arguing, no fighting, no hanky panky with Dad and me. And you have to feed Rufus and take him for a walk until he’s pooped out.”

“We’ll do it, Mom! We promise!” Andrea said as she wrapped her arm around Kyle’s shoulders.

“Yeah, we’ll do it, Mom! We promise!” Kyle sounded genuine, but Andrea still side-eyed her brother and was about to flick his ear when she caught Neil’s eye. He winked at her, and she smiled.

“All right. Go get your dad and head to the theater. I’ll talk with Neil about tomorrow.”

“Bye, Neil!”

“See you tomorrow!”

He waved at the kids as they bounced off and were talking excitedly to each other about what they were going to see tomorrow.

“Ugh, I swear to God. Just yesterday, Andrea was a quiet little girl who loved her brother, and now she won’t shut up about the ways that he annoys her. Like even breathing is an offense,” she huffed out. Neil could see the conflict in her eyes, though. Her little girl was growing up and becoming her own person.

That unadorned love wasn’t something Neil was used to seeing, but he knew Dan well enough that she was worrying about if she was being too strict with her children. Having both parents in the household was something she never had, and because Matt is so lenient with the kids, she’s become the “evil” one. The toll is heavy on her face. Where her brown eyes used to sparkle, there’s a dull undertone now, and her beautiful, brown skin has grown thinner and sags around the eyes.

“Hey. You’re doing a great job with them. They’re kind. Not many people are these days.”

She let out a watery sigh and smiled up at him. “Thanks, Neil.”

Her eyes were still tearing up, so he patted her shoulder a couple of times. She laughed.

“You really know how to make people cry, Neil.”

“I was trying to comfort you,” he said, confused.

“I know. What I mean is, comfort from you means you actually care. And that thought makes me cry,” she said.

“But I do care,” he said, even more confused. “You guys are my family.”

“Oh Neil,” she said, and this time, her tears were falling full force. Neil panicked.

“Do you want me to get Matt?”

“No, you asshole. Just give me a hug.”

So he wrapped his small frame around Dan, head landing uncomfortably on her breasts. He stared out while she was holding him, watching the seagulls landing in the water, when he saw a flash of yellow coming out of the aquarium.

His eyes followed the head of blond making their way to the harbor, tendrils of smoke coming from the hand on his left side. As if he could sense Neil’s stare, the blond turned around and locked eyes with him. The look was as impassive as it was about ten minutes ago, but there was a spark of something—surprise?—before it was gone, and the blond turned around.

Dan’s sigh broke him out of his trance, and he remembered he was still in her arms. He lightly pulled away from her, and Dan let go. She studied Neil’s face as she wiped her own.

“Thanks for that, Neil. I needed it.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m here when you need me.”

“Don’t make me cry again,” Dan warned.

“I’m not trying to,” he said. Dan really was so confusing sometimes.

She laughed this time, though, before her eyebrows drew together.

“Wait a minute, did you really start going to the aquarium because you’re seeing someone? I thought you didn’t swing?”

“Just because I don’t swing doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a nice-looking person when I see one. I’m really just going there for the penguins,” which was the barest truth he could give away.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but a smile started forming. “Whatever you say, Neil. I’ll text you with the details tomorrow. See you!”

He waved bye and started to turn around when he locked eyes with the same blond head as earlier. It was only for a second, though, and then Neil stood there and watched as he walked inside the aquarium.

 _Until tomorrow, then_ , Neil thought.

*****

The first time Neil went into the aquarium was because he got lost. He was on a run, like he does most mornings, but his thoughts took him to a place so far that he didn’t even realize where he was until he ran into someone.

“I’m so sorry. Let me help you up,” he said to the man on the floor. He held out a hand, but the man looked up at him with obscenely blue eyes and stood up without taking Neil’s hand. Neil wiped his hands on his shorts.

“Uh, sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I mean, I guess I was thinking too much. I was on a run and sometimes, my thoughts just take me places, you know? So I guess I strayed from my usual route. I don’t even know where I am right now. Where are we?”

The blond man just stared at him impassively.

“I work in the aquarium. Junkie,” he said before he walked off.

“Hey! I’m not a junkie!” he yelled after him, but all he got was weird stares from the people around him.

After muttering to himself for a few minutes, Neil followed the blond guy into the aquarium. He’d never been in one before this—who would pay $26 dollars to go see fish swim in a tank—so he figured he would check it out to cool down from his run that was definitely longer than he was used to.

When he walked in, some woman in a jellyfish hat gave him a map and told him to find anyone with a jellyfish hat, and they could help him if he needed it. He gave a nod and took the map to see what, exactly, aquariums hold.

There was a section for sharks, octopuses, fish, of course, dolphins, seals, and penguins. A lot of other stuff too, but Neil was so confused as to why they would house them here when they were meant to be in the sea, or their respective environments. He wandered aimlessly, the blue reflections and water around him calming him as he worked his way through the crowds, until he found a man with a jellyfish hat.

“Excuse me, why do you keep all these animals in here? Don’t they belong in the sea?”

The man turned around, and Neil stepped back in surprise when the same blue eyes from outside stared back at him.

“It’s you!”

“I told you I work here, junkie.”

“Okay, I realize how I sounded when I said I didn’t even realize where I was, but I’m not a junkie, okay?”

The blond raised one eyebrow. “Junkie.”

“I’m not—” Neil sighed. “Fine. But seriously, why do you keep all these animals here?”

“Have you never been to an aquarium before?”

“No.”

The man stared at him blankly and blinked once before he said, “We house those animals who were injured in the wild and we help preserve those animals that are endangered.”

“Oh. Do all aquariums do that?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Go see the penguins. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“What? Why?”

The man shrugged and walked away, leaving Neil to contemplate what just happened. He made his way over the penguin exhibit anyway because he was curious as to what the man wanted to show him. He got lost, though, because the damn place was so big. He managed to find it, and he saw the blond in the walls with the penguins, feeding them.

And Neil couldn’t stop staring.

From the two interactions Neil had with this man, he seemed impassive and to likely give the cold-shoulder to anyone he met. But now, the man was petting the penguins, talking with them, and the penguins seemed to respond, crowding around him and taking any chance to get close to his hand—not to eat, but for him to pet them.

There was a big group in front of the glass, people watching this man feed the birds, and suddenly, all Neil wanted to do was put up a barricade so only he could watch it happen.

Almost as if he could hear Neil’s thoughts, the man looked up from where he was petting a small penguin with red head feathers—is that what they were?—and found Neil’s eyes. He raised an eyebrow, as if in challenge, and went back to feeding the penguins.

It lasted for about fifteen minutes, and as the people begin to disperse, Neil waited and watched the penguins, hoping for the man to come out or to go back in the glass wall so Neil could see him one more time. After five minutes, Neil gave up hope. He turned around and started walking towards the exit.

He glanced down and realized he still had the map in his hands. It was opened to the page about penguins, and at the very bottom of the left side of the map, there was a schedule of feeding times. He looked at his watch that said 11:23am, then found the 11am time slot for feeding penguins. The name “Andrew” was on it, next to the 11am and 3pm time slots, and his name was under the schedule for Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It was Friday today.

Guess he’ll try again tomorrow.

*****

It started like that, and it’s been going on for about two months. The membership costs him $160 per year, but since Neil doesn’t buy anything besides necessities and he ends up going every day Andrew is there, he figures it’s worth it.

It’s worth it to see Andrew’s eyes when he finds Neil’s in the audience. It’s worth it when, before Andrew leaves the penguin exhibit, he tilts his left eyebrow upwards. It’s worth it to see Andrew’s face transform from stoicism to mild excitement when he sees the penguins for the first time of the day. It’s worth it when Andrew waves to him that one time when Neil smiles at him.

It’s worth every penny

*****

“I want to see the sharks first.”

“But I want to see the penguins!”

“Kyle, you’re such a baby. Penguins are boring! Sharks are so exciting and scary!”

“Penguins are _not_ boring. Right, Neil? You like the penguins, right?”

“The penguins are my favorite. But I’ve never seen the sharks before. How about we save the penguins for last, Kyle? They have a feeding at 3pm, so we have a couple of hours before we can see them in action.”

Kyle’s eyes light up as he grabs Neil’s hand. “Yeah, let’s do that! That’ll be cool, right Andy?”

But Andrea’s already walking towards the shark exhibit. Or, what Neil thinks is the shark exhibit.

“Andy, slow down. I don’t know this place that well. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’ll be fine, Neil! Hurry up!”

Neil sighs as he lets Kyle pull him along so they’re both trying to catch up to Andrea. She’s like a bullet, moving from tank to tank, eyeing the fishes for a whole thirty seconds before she darts off to another exhibit.

“Andrea, slow down. Don’t run. You’re going to run into people.”

And she actually listens to him. They’re at the touch tank, and Andrea’s got both hands in the water, feeling the fish, sting rays, and whatever else is in there. Kyle creeps up behind her slowly, watching what she does before he decides if he can be brave enough to put his hand inside the tank full of things he doesn’t know.

Andrea watches Kyle eye the tank with discomfort, so she grabs Kyle’s hand when he shies away, scared of going anywhere near that. She talks softly to him, lightly takes his hand and puts it in the water. He watches Kyle’s jaw tighten and his eyes close as Andrea moves his hand around, but then his eyes open with a shock as he feels something. Andrea’s smiling at her brother, giving, what seems like, encouraging words to Kyle. And with each word she says, Kyle’s confidence grows, and his smile widens.

He hears his phone trill, so he takes it out of his back pocket, eyes still on Kyle and Andrea in case they wander off. Andrea has her mother’s phone, but something tells Neil the last thing she’s going to do is check it.

It’s a text from Matt, asking about the kids.

>They kill each other yet?

<No.

>Really??? Andy’s always at Kyle’s throat by now

>They’re fine.

<Wow. Everything’s fine with you, huh? Send a picture

Neil snaps one of the two of them, still at the touch tank, Andy’s hand leading Kyle’s to another section of the tank. He sends the picture.

>!!!! THEY ACUTALLY LIKE EACH OTHER! Dude, you’re some type of magic with them. I’m framing this.

<Somehow, I don’t think they’ll appreciate that.

>You just focus on not losing them. For as long as it took you to write that message, I promise they’re already gone from where they were

Neil looks up sharply and finds that Matt is right. They’re gone. Neil immediately dials Dan’s phone, but as predicted, there’s no answer. He texts “call me.” three times in a row, followed by a “where are you?” as he’s making his way around. His head is down, trying to figure out why the touch screen on his phone is so sensitive to every touch that it’s no wonder he runs into someone.

“I’m so sorry. I lost my kids, and I—Andrew?”

He looks down and finds Andrew on the floor, but he looks comfortable. Like he was expecting to be knocked over and has fallen in the most comfortable position possible.

“Junkie.”

It’s the first time he’s heard him speak since the first day they met.

“Um. I was going to see the penguins at three. I convinced Kyle that they’re better to watch when someone’s feeding them.”

Andrew raises his left eyebrow, and Neil’s stomach drops to his feet and flips like penguins doing tricks in the water.

“Um.”

“You lost them.”

That snaps Neil to attention, and the feeling of dread crawls up and masks the other feeling.

“They were at the touch tank, but I was texting Matt and then I looked up and they were gone. I don’t know where to find them.”

“If you go to the front of the aquarium, they can call your kids for you,” Andrew says, then turns around to walk away. It hurts more than it should.

“Wait!” he yells. He draws more than a few stares, Andrew’s being one of them. “Can…can you help me? I don’t actually know where I am.”

Both of Andrew’s left eyebrow shoots up, and with it, a very small, very private smile follows. And Neil’s penguin-flipping-in-the-water-feeling is back full force.

“Junkie.” He says it so softly, Neil almost doesn’t hear it among the voices floating around them, but it still makes his heart skip a beat.

He follows Andrew when he turns around abruptly, heading towards the next exhibit.

They’re four exhibits in when Neil finds them. He runs over to them, not even realizing he left Andrew in the dust.

“Andrea! Keep your phone on loud. I’ve called you so many times. I couldn’t find you. I told you I don’t know my way around this place. Are you guys okay?”

He’s kneeling on the floor in front of them, hands rubbing their backs, as they hug them.

“Sorry, Neil! We saw dolphins and we got too excited we forgot to tell you. Nicky’s about to go and feed them!” Kyle says.

“Who is Nicky?”

“My cousin,” Andrew says behind him.

“Oh, Andrew. Sorry about that. Thanks for helping me. This is Andrea and Kyle. Guys, this is Andrew. He works with the penguins,” Neil says.

“Hey, my name is Andrea. Is your nickname Andy too?”

Andrew stares at her blankly before he says, “I don’t have a nickname.”

“Really? Why?”

Andrew shrugs and turns to walk away, but Kyle stops him.

“Are you the person Neil comes to see every day?”

Neil’s mouth drops open as his eyes dart from Kyle to Andrew and then back to Kyle.

“I—I go for the penguins, Kyle. I told you.”

His eyes float back to Andrew, who’s looking at him with that damn left eyebrow raised.

“I feed the penguins,” he says to Kyle. Which is neither here nor there, but it seems to satisfy Kyle.

Andrew gives Neil a pointed look before he turns and walks towards a man with dark skin, but blond hair. Somehow, it doesn’t look too bad on him. Neil watches them exchange a few words before the man tries to swing an arm around Andrew, only to stop when he gives the man a look. The man shrugs and leads the way into a door that says, “Staff Only”.

“So. Andrew, huh?” Andrea says at Neil’s side. Kyle’s on his other side wrapping his fingers around Neil’s hand, but he has a smirk on his face that matches Andy’s.

“What about Andrew?”

“Oh, nothing. He seems nice,” she says.

“I don’t really know him. I’ve talked to him twice.”

“Well, he helped you find us, right?” Kyle asks.

“Yes.”

“I’d say that makes him pretty nice.”

Andrea mumbles something under her breath that only Kyle hears, and then they both break down laughing.

“What? I don’t understand.”

“Oh, Neil. You probably wouldn’t understand it if it hit you in the face,” Andy says, and it’s something that’s so _Dan_ that he knows she’s behind this.

“What did Dan tell you?”

“Nothing! We’re are innocent children, Neil,” Andy says as she furiously blinks her eyes.

“I don’t believe that for one second.”

Kyle and Andrea start giggling again but stop when the man from before walks out with Andrew not that far behind.

“Hey guys! I didn’t get to meet your dad here. I’m Nicky,” he says, and puts his hand out for a handshake.

Neil goes for it, but he says, “I’m not their dad. I’m a family friend of their parents.”

Nicky’s eyes go wide, and he twists his head around sharply to look back at Andrew. When he faces Neil again, he starts shaking his hand with more enthusiasm and a smile that’s a little manic.

“Well, isn’t that just wonderful. Are you single?”

“Neil’s as single as the last french fry,” Andrea says.

“Andy, stop it,” he says, but Nicky’s laughing hard enough that she barely hears it.

“Oh girl, you’re a riot. Your mother must be proud of you.”

“Dan is extremely proud of both of her children,” Neil says.

“Oh, I’m sure! These two came right up to me when they realized they lost you and I told them they could stay with me until you wandered over. It’s a big place, but it’s small enough you’d get here sooner rather than later. Luckily for you, Andrew helped you out.”

Neil’s eyes drift over to Andrew, and he finds that Andrew is already looking at Neil. Their gaze is intense, but there’s no emotion behind it. It’s like looking through a glass exhibit. You see what’s there for all that it is, with nothing to hide and nowhere else to look. It’s a feeling Neil’s had with no one else and it scares him, but he feels like he’s had it with Andrew for longer than he knows.

Neil breaks away first because Kyle tugs on Neil’s fingers. Neil looks down at him and finds a small frown on his face.

“You okay, Neil?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“Nicky was trying to ask you something.”

“Ah. Sorry,” he says as he faces Nicky. His lips are curved in a small smile and his eyes are dancing with something Neil can’t place.

“Just wondering if I can take the kids in to see the dolphins. It’s a little something I do for people I like,” he says with a wink.

“Andrea, Kyle, do you guys wan—”

“YES, YES, YES!!!”

Nicky laughs and takes them both behind the “Staff Only” door, promising to deliver them to the penguins at 3pm, and Neil is left with Andrew in front of the dolphins.

“I have to go to work,” Andrew says. Neil checks his watch and finds it’s already 2:45pm.

“Yeah. Almost time.”

Andrew stares at him for a minute, then walks towards the penguin exhibit, and Neil follows him because he still doesn’t know where he is and he has only the route from the front entrance to the penguin exhibit memorized. Before Andrew goes through the “Staff Only” door by the penguins, he turns around and tells Neil to wait after the feeding is over. Neil nods and sits down on the rock bench and waits for Andrea and Kyle to come.

He hears Nicky’s laugh before he sees the kids. They both are holding hands with Nicky as they make their way into the small, rock-covered penguin exhibit, and when they see him, they run towards Neil and start raving about the dolphins.

“They were so slimy! But not like the rays in the touch tank. Those were gross,” Kyle says.

“The dolphins are definitely cuter than the rays,” Andrea says.

“What did you do, Neil?” Nicky asks him.

“I sat here and waited for you guys.”

Nicky balks. “What? Andrew didn’t, you know, _do_ anything?”

Neil blinks. “What would Andrew do?”

“You know,” Nicky says as he made hand movements. He looks like he doesn’t know how to put his fingers together with the amount of times he misses his other hand.

“I don’t understand.”

Nicky, Kyle, and Andrea start laughing, and Neil just sits there watching them because he has absolutely no clue about what just happened. He was about to say so again, when he notices the group of people in front of him cluster together, so he gets up and presses himself as close to the glass he could get to watch Andrew.

The whole time the feeding was happening, Andrew’s eyes never left Neil’s. The penguins would squawk at him when he wouldn’t pet them, but a majority of them left after they got their share of fish. Neil could hear Nicky, Kyle, and Andrea in the background, but the only thing he was 100% aware of was how the glass seemed to disappear and how the distance between Andrew and Neil grew smaller and smaller.

Neil followed Andrew’s movements when he went out of the door of the exhibit and stood to wait on the “Staff Only” door for him. Kyle, Andrea, and Nicky went with him.

“You were right, Neil. That was pretty cool! I’ve never heard penguins squawk so loudly before! And they were kind of cute.”

“See, Andy? I told you.”

Andrea rolls her eyes, but she drags her brother’s head under her arm and rubs her knuckles on top of his head lightly.

“Hey,” Nicky says softly for Neil’s ears only. “Andrew’s a nice guy. He doesn’t say much and is kind of an asshole, but he’s fiercely loyal and I know he likes you. I’m basically the only family he’s got, so be careful with him, okay?”

Neil blinks. “I’ve barely said anything to him. I’ve met him twice.”

Nicky rolls his eyes. “I’m not stupid. But look, it’s been a while since anyone’s caught Andrew’s eye, and when someone does, he flirts with them, albeit super badly. The first time you guys met, he tried to get me to get you back here so he could get to know you, but all he knew about you was that you were cute. He literally sent me out here with the directions: ‘go find the cute one.’ Like, I’m gay too, and there were a _lot_ of cute guys out there.”

Neil’s balance tipped from under him. “I waited.”

Nicky beams and grabs Neil’s shoulders to shake him. “You did!? Oh my God, do you know what that means? I win the bet! One hundred-fucking-dollars! In your face, Allison!”

“Get off of him. Now.” They didn’t even realize Andrew was out.

“Oh, gladly. He’s all yours! Kyle, Andrea, want to go see the penguins?”

Like the good kids they are, they look to Neil for permission. As far as Neil could tell, Nicky was friendly enough to be trusted, so he nods and watches as they bounce behind Nicky to see the penguins.

“Truth for truth,” Andrew says.

Neil nods.

“Did you really come just to see the penguins?”

Neil swallows, but he says, “No. Did you really send Nicky to get me after the first day we met?”

Andrew starts to walk forward as he says, “Yes. Why did you come every day?”

“I don’t know. You seemed so unconcerned about everything when we talked, but then with the penguins, you seemed comfortable. You changed. I guess I wanted to see if you could be comfortable with me, too.”

“You’re a fucking junkie,” but Neil sees the pink bloom on his cheeks the closer Andrew got. When they were toe to toe, Neil could see a light dusting of freckles over Andrew’s nose, and he got the urge to trail his fingers across them, to finally touch his face. But when he lifts his hand up, Andrew grabs his wrist and pulls Neil close enough that Neil could smell Andrew beyond the fish—it smelled something like soft paper from a favorite book, a lukewarm cup of coffee, and the smoke of cigarettes with a hint of chocolate.

“Why did you want to see me? After that first day?”

“I wanted to kiss you. Now, you make me want to kill you.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve never wanted anything. Every time I see you, you make me want to kill you a little more.”

Neil couldn’t help but smile, because with every word coming out of his mouth, Andrew’s hands were climbing up his arms and finally rested on his nape.

“So you do like me.”

“I hate you.” Andrew bumps his nose to Neil’s. “Yes or no?”

“It’s always yes with you.”

Neil sees Andrew’s eyes roll before he pulls Neil in for a kiss. It’s hard, at first. A hard press, followed by another and another until Neil opens his mouth and Andrew licks Neil’s top lip before closing the gap with his tongue. Neil gasps as their tongues slide together, Andrew’s tongue stroking hard and fast strokes against Neil’s that has his knees buckling. So Andrew pushes Neil up against the rock wall hard enough that Neil knows he’s going to bruise. Andrew’s hands go to Neil’s hair and he tugs his head backward so Andrew can lick at his neck and suck a bruise right underneath his ear.

Neil’s never been kissed before, and he’s never imagined something this consuming. He revels in the kisses Andrew puts on his neck, on his face, and he sighs when Andrew sucks in a new mark on his collarbone. It feels like a perfect dive in the water; Andrew wraps around him, taking him deeper with each inch Neil gives to him, and Neil just wants to get lost in it.

But then, somewhere in the distance, Neil can here the laugh of children.

“Andrew,” Neil sighs. “Andrew, the kids.”

“They’re with Nicky,” he says into his jaw. And then Andrew shifts so his legs are in between Neil’s and Neil lets out a helpless moan at the pressure that meets his groin and forgets everything else.

“Andrew,” he moans, and Andrew just bites down on Neil’s neck before closing his mouth over Neil’s as he starts to move his hips against Neil’s. He keens into Andrew’s mouth and Andrew takes it all in, sucking on Neil’s tongue and tightening his finger in Neil’s hair. When Andrew starts to move faster, Neil’s hands come up to grab Andrew’s face, but Andrew grabs his wrists and pulls away. Neil opens his eyes and goes breathless at the sight of Andrew’s face; lips red, cheeks pink, eyes black with a little sliver of the blue that lives there.

“Don’t touch me,” he says. And Neil nods before he pulls his hands away and digs them into the pockets of his jeans. He follows Andrew’s sight downwards until he’s looking at his dick, which is sporting an obvious tent. He looks up and smiles at Andrew, who seems torn between wanting to continue and wanting to start all over again.

“I actually do have to get the kids home. I promised they’d be home by five.”

Andrew lifts his eyes to Neil’s and steps forward to kiss him once, twice more before he takes the phone out of Neil’s back pocket.

“Text me,” Andrew says. Neil nods and gives Andrew a kiss on the cheek before he heads to the glass to watch the kids play with the penguins. But he notices the small smile on Andrew’s face and how he brings his hand to his cheek before he turns away to get the kids.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

**Six months later**

“I spy something with my little eye, something…purple!”

“The jellyfish hat! Kyle, that’s the third time you’ve said that. My answer’s not going to change.”

“Yeah, well, maybe one time it might.”

“You’re such a loser.”

“You’re such a loser.”

“Kyle, stop it.”

“Kyle, stop it.”

“Dad! Kyle won’t stop copying me!”

“Dad! Kyle won’t stop copying me!”

Matt sighs. Since Andy turned thirteen two weeks ago, she won’t stop calling Kyle a loser because suddenly, everyone who isn’t her group of friends is a loser. Dan and he have tried everything to get her to stop, but nothing’s working at all. Matt’s even tried to talk Neil into telling her to stop, but he already curses so much in front of the kids without realizing that it would be pointless.

“Andrea Boyd. If I hear that word coming out of your mouth one more time, we’re going back.”

“But Dad—”

“No buts. We’ve had this talk with you countless times, and if you can’t listen to us, you’re going to have to bear the consequences.”

“Fine. Sorry, Kyle.”

Instead of showing his sister cheek, he grabs her hand and pulls her towards the touch tank, pulls her down, and whispers something in her ear. She looks to her left, smiles, and starts talking to Kyle as if nothing happened.

“We have some weird kids, babe.”

“They get it from you,” Dan says before she kisses him on the mouth.

“Isn’t it weird Neil couldn’t come with us today? I can’t help but feel like we’re missing something.”

Matt shrugs. “You know he just started taking classes to get his bachelor’s degree. He’s been working so hard, and on top of that, he’s picked up another job.”

Dan rolls her eyes. “That boy and his jobs. What is that, his fifth one?”

Matt scratches his beard to think. There was the coaching job for Kyle’s soccer team, but he got fired after he verbally attacked the kid who shoved Kyle on purpose. He’s had a steady job at the coffee house down the street from his place. He picked up a job at a bookstore near here, and…there was one more that Neil didn’t talk about much, but it had to do with…something.

“No, it was just three so far. I can’t remember the one he just took, though. It was giving directions…like a tour guide? I don’t think he told us where, though.”

“Dad! Mom! Let’s play I spy again!” Andrea says as she speeds over.

Dan laughs. “Okay. I sp—”

“No! Me! I want to go first! Okay. I spy something with my little eye, something a five-foot two guy with red hair and standing next to him, a five-foot tall blond guy.”

“What? Andy, that’s not—”

“No! You have to do it!” Kyle says.

Matt and Dan exchange exasperated looks as they look for a five-foot two guy with red hair, standing next to a—

“Is that…Neil? Kissing the blond dude who told us how to get to the touch tank?”

Dan whipped around to her kids. “You told us there was nothing going on between Neil and Andrew! You said they were just friends!”

“You said you didn’t see anything happen! How long as this been happening?!”

Kyle and Andrea exchanged glances and smiled at Neil and Andrew before facing their parents. “We told Neil what you guys did. I mean, he already basically knew because really Mom, you are not subtle,” Andrea starts.

Matt lets out a chuckle as he swings an arm over her wife and pulls her in for a kiss on the cheek.

“But Neil asked us if we could wait to tell you guys until Andrew was comfortable enough to meet you guys, and so he could have time to actually get to know Andrew. Neil said Andrew asked us to come today. Neil started working here as a tour guide two months ago when he’s not _making out with his boyfriend, Neil_.” Andrea screams the last part loud enough that Neil and Andrew break apart and start to head over, hands intertwined.

“I spy something pink,” Matt whispers to his wife.

“Is that a blush I see on Neil Josten’s face?”

They look at each other and share a kiss before their own hands collide together in a practiced motion. Matt only hopes that it’s easy like this for Neil and Andrew one day.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> Okayyyyy, so UGH it's been so long since I've written anything, and I feel like this isn't that good! PLEASE EXUCSE THE SAPPINESS AND THE REALLY BAD TITLE!!! And please leave comments if you feel like sharing what you liked and what I could improve on!!!! That said, I really hope y'all enjoyed this!! I had a fun time writing it, even though it was like pulling teeth at one point lolol! I really loved writing for this fandom, and maybe one day soon, I'll write some more, hopefully better stuff! @luciscout I hope you're happy with this!! I love y'all so much!!! <33333


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